finding the right prop

[Hands]

I have a 1984 18' baja sun sport with a 83/84 150 black max. has holley electric fuel pump,boyesen reeds, exhaust drilled (16) 3/8 holes and a 24p prop, the boat from a stand still to WOT runs about 6500/6800 or so rpms and planes and drops to about 5200 and maxs out at 6000 fully trimmed with two people and 57 mph, (GPS) My question is with all that rpm at take off cant i put more bight in the prop and get more MPH, with out hurting plane? I want to go faster. what the most MPH i cant expect from what i have with a better prop? and what would be a better prop. i bought the boat about three months ago and i got the bug now. i have been reading and boats comparable to mine are doing 70,80,90.........any clues

[eliminatedsprinter]

I don't know of anyone getting 80 or 90 with a rig like that and a modified 150. Plus I doubt that hull would be stable and safe at those speeds. My understanding is that the Baja sun sport is not a racing hull. I have heard of a few who claim 70 or 75 however. I myself have found most of these to be exaggerated. I have a less modified e-rude 150 on a lighter, faster hull and I am happy to get 60+ (with very strong accelleration) with mine, now that I have added a custom tuned 21 inch pitch ballistic stainless prop. I don't think I would want to give up the accelleration and relability it would take to get my rig over 70 with my 150.
P.S. It sounds like you have a pretty sweet running rig as it is
[ September 25, 2003, 05:14 PM: Message edited by: eliminatedsprinter ]

[eliminatedsprinter]

I may have sounded a bit authoritative in my above response. If you want a better answer than mine you may want to get some answers from some of the others on this board as well. Many of them seem very knowledgeable about this type of stuff (ie HavasuDreamin). Good luck. Like I said, it sounds like a fun rig. If you can post a picture on the "where have all the classic outboards gone?" thread. But don't ask me how to post it, as HavasuDreamin put my boats pic there after Jet Boat Rich posted it on another thread.
[ September 29, 2003, 11:32 AM: Message edited by: eliminatedsprinter ]

[Hands]

After reading your answer to my questions i got a little bumbed out think that was all i could get and just how wounderful your boat was. Then i picked up and copy of hot boat and was reading and saw a boat just like mine doing 72 MPH and stable. I guess every other boat thats not like your is just shit, thanks for your advice!!!!!

[Hands]

Sorry if i sounded alittle harsh, i was hoping somebody would look at the numbers and tell me what kinda prop to start with, but instead i get somebody telling me what they think my boat is and you dont have a clue . and 60+ is weak. have fun your boat sounds boring.

[eliminatedsprinter]

Hands:
After reading your answer to my questions i got a little bumbed out think that was all i could get and just how wounderful your boat was. Then i picked up and copy of hot boat and was reading and saw a boat just like mine doing 72 MPH and stable. I guess every other boat thats not like your is just shit, thanks for your advice!!!!! When I read my post I thought it sounded a little snotty. Your response confirmed my fear. Sorry.
As far as boats that are not like mine being sh-- all I can say is. Not at all! My boat is slow for this crowd. I would never intentionally try to brag on it around here. Shoot, many of the folks on this forum have some seriously hot hardware and my rig is strictly lightweight entry level stuff around here.
As for your rig (and mine for that matter) 72 mph would be great. You mentioned 80 or 90 mph in your post, those are the speeds I think stability would be a problem at (esp 90) there are not many 18-20 ft V hulls that are stable at those kinds of extreme speeds. I would leave those speeds to an Allison or something with more of a racing hull. That is all I ment. I only mentioned my boat, because It is of similar speed and power to yours. From what you posted, I'd guess that our rigs perform similarly. Your motor is faster than mine is, but my hull is lighter, so the performance potential is probably similar. I did not mean to imply I had a better rig. I am really sorry if my response bummed you for even one second. I said it sounded like you had a sweet rig and I ment it. It really sounds like a fun, cool ride the way it is. I mean it, it sounds great. I didn't mean to sound like a jerk who thinks his ride is the sh--. Once again SORRY.
[ September 29, 2003, 10:56 AM: Message edited by: eliminatedsprinter ]

[eliminatedsprinter]

Hands:
Sorry if i sounded alittle harsh, i was hoping somebody would look at the numbers and tell me what kinda prop to start with, but instead i get somebody telling me what they think my boat is and you dont have a clue . and 60+ is weak. have fun your boat sounds boring. I guess 60+ is kind of boring. But it is my only powerboat and my wife and 10 year old son ride in it all the time with me, so I want to make sure that I keep the speed well within my hull's safe speed range. Besides, it sits real low in the water and 60 seems real fast down there.
P.S. If your motor normally is capable of turning 6500 rpms and you are currently getting 6000 with your 24 incher, you might want to try going down to a 23 or a 22. You might gain more speed by regaining those lost RPMs. It's hard to say much, because you didn't give a lot of info on what type of prop you are currently running other than it's pitch. If you give more info some of the many guys that know more than I do about this stuff may post in and answer your question more to your satisfaction. I know I'm not a big expert on prop pitch, but I'm not totally clueless either. Since nobody else answered your post I thought I'd try to help you out. Naturally my answer was a conservative one, since I don't know you and I would hate to shoot my mouth off and give some dumb advice or encouragement that could get you hurt or waste your money. It was just ment to be some friendly input, not anything negitive. Sorry. P.S. I asked a similer question (but not for as much speed) on another thread and HavasuDreamin gave me some good input.
[ September 29, 2003, 11:30 AM: Message edited by: eliminatedsprinter ]

[Hands]

Thank you for your reply. Maybe sometimes words just get misunderstood through these forums.

[eliminatedsprinter]

I agree.
I think I remember reading in ***boat about a rig like your's doing over 70. Didn't it have a hydraulic jackplate? With a hydraulic jackplate you could surface your prop and perhaps get back some of those RPMs and still keep your larger prop. There are so many knowledgable people on these boards, I don't know why you aren't getting more help with your question. I have noticed that the outboard section has less participation than the other areas of the forum, but lately it has been very slow here.
P.S. I have seen some people here on these boards recommend another website (scremandfly.com) for this kind of specific onfo.
[ October 03, 2003, 02:34 PM: Message edited by: eliminatedsprinter ]

[Trailer Park Casanova]

70 MPH is the Magic Number in boating. The threshold speed.
If ya sniff around, there are shops in the 909 that will actually let you test out props. Ya have to buy one first,, but before ya decide which one,, they let you try them out.
I'm sure someone on the board knows who.
GPS speed tests are good for compairsons,, but not for bragging rights.
Screamandfly is a good place for this info too.
Just my 2 cents worth.